Attorneys for the hotel-casino said in the suit that the Houston company claims to have the exclusive rights to sell Palazzo clothing items -- a claim disputed by the Las Vegas Sands attorneys.

The lawsuit said Palazzo Design has offered to license or sell the trademark rights to the hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip -- and says the hotel-casino has been threatened with legal action if it doesn't make such a deal.

Las Vegas Sands, controlled by Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson, is asking the court to declare it has the rights to sell "Palazzo" clothing at its casino resort.

"Like many hotels and resorts, the properties contain gift shops and souvenir shops, which sell items which have the hotel names on them. This is done primarily to advertise the Venetian and Palazzo properties,' said the lawsuit, filed by attorneys Deanna Forbush and Lyssa Anderson of the Las Vegas firm Fox Rothschild LLP.

An attorney for Palazzo Design, which sells its goods on the Internet and in retail stores, told Las Vegas Sands in a June 26 letter that Palazzo Design has exclusive nationwide trademark rights in the "PALAZZO" name in connection with shirts, hats and other apparel.

"It has come to our client's attention that the Palazzo casino is marketing and selling shirts, hats and other apparel bearing (Palazzo Design's) protected mark," wrote attorney E. Randall Smith of the Houston law firm Jones & Smith LLP, which specializes in intellectual property law including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.

This is the second such lawsuit to be filed this week involving a Las Vegas hotel-casino. Earlier, Wynn Resorts' Encore resort sued an Atlanta hotel company over the "XS" trademark. That's the name of a nightclub at Encore on the Las Vegas Strip.

Casino City is an independent directory and information service free of any gaming operator's control.
Warning: You must ensure you meet all age and other regulatory requirements before entering a
Casino or placing a wager. There are hundreds of jurisdictions in the world with Internet access and
hundreds of different games and gambling opportunities available on the Internet.
YOU are responsible for determining if it is legal for YOU to play any particular games or place any
particular wager.